Unexpected Foresight
by SunRae5
Summary: Harry knew that life enjoyed to throw him curveballs, an engagement between Hermione and Draco having to be the biggest one of them all (in recent years at least). Through an unexpected event however, he comes to realise that sometimes curveballs can be something great. As they say, 'Never count your chickens before the eggs have hatched'.


_A/N: It's been a long time since I've published a new chapter/something new so I'm quite happy that my muse appears to be returning. I hope that you have all had a wonderful start to your new terms/semesters and that the coming academic year will treat everyone well. :)_

 _This one has been sitting around for quite a while on my computer, the latter half kept escaping me. Now that it is complete, I am quite happy with it, seeing as Harry was fun to write. I do hope that you all enjoy it._

 _-SunRae5_

* * *

 _Unexpected Foresight_

Harry had come to expect that many things in life were unexpected. It was simply the way his life worked. Things never went as planned and life always managed to throw a massive curveball his way.

Like the time when he was turning eleven and discovered that he was a wizard.

Like the time that he found out that he was actually something like a hero in the wizarding world.

Like the time that he had found out that Professor Quirrel was the evil one, not Professor Snape.

Like the time that he and Ron crashed into the whomping willow.

Like the time that he, a Gryffindor, had come to be called 'the heir of Slytherin'.

Like the time... you get the idea.

But he guessed that the biggest curveball life had ever thrown him was the one sitting in front of him right now. Now, he knew that his mouth was probably hanging wide open in what his fiancée Ginny termed as an accurate impression of a goldfish, but he really couldn't help himself.

He guessed that he was the one better off out of him and Ron though, the poor bloke had fainted and any attempts to currently revive him were failing quite dismally. He couldn't blame him though, this had to be the biggest piece of news that he had been presented with in quite some time.

Hermione Granger being engaged to Draco Malfoy.

Now if that was not a joke, then he didn't know what was. He hadn't even known that they were dating!

"You're what?" Ginny managed to choke out.

"I'm engaged to be married to Draco Malfoy in four months." His best friend replied and he could literally see Ginny's mind going into an overdrive.

This was not going to be good.

He really should have stayed at home today. He had already had that tingling feeling this morning, that feeling that something big was going to happen today. He'd gotten it so many times before - it never promised to be anything good.

Well, at least he now knew which curveball life had decided to throw at him today.

Why, oh why did life enjoy throwing him so many curveballs?

"And you've been dating for how long?" Ginny looked put out. In fact, she looked downright affronted that she hadn't known about this. Which he guessed was understandable considering how much Ginny hated being left in the dark. Especially considering how much his beloved his beloved wife hated to be left out of particularly juicy gossip.

"For nearly a year." Hermione stated calmly as she took a sip of her tea. Ron had just gotten back up when he heard that and promptly fainted again. If Harry didn't know any better then he would have guessed that his friend had a weak disposition. Which he actually didn't. Ron was an auror for crying out loud - if he had a weak disposition then he would never have made it as far as he did. It was actually more of a surprise that Ron hadn't gone into the full 'Weasley shouting mode' yet, the shock being too great for him to cope with, although Ginny did look dangerously close to reaching that stage. The one where she flipped at shouted at his best friend for not telling them about this. He could literally feel it in the air.

"And you didn't tell us about this why?" Ginny was looking more and more annoyed by the second and from experience Harry could also tell that she was hurt by Hermione not telling them, although he could kind of see why. The Malfoys and the Weasleys weren't exactly the greatest of friends. Which wasn't that much of a surprise considering the history that the two families shared. But still, the point was that they were her friends and this was something that friends told each other.

"Because if convincing me that he's no good for me wouldn't have worked then you would have started the quest of making him and me split up while believing that you were doing what was best for me." Hermione continued. To anyone else she looked like the epitome of calm, as her best friend however, Harry knew that she was pretty nervous about telling them all of this. It had always been that small tick on her forehead that had given her away.

As a Ministry owl swooped in and headed towards him, Harry decided that they were now one of his best friends and that he had never been happier to see one. He really didn't want to deal with this situation right now when he didn't even know how to react about it. He needed some time, a lot of tea and maybe a fair amount of firewhiskey too in order to come to terms with all of this. He had had his suspicions that Hermione was secretly dating someone for some time now but that she was engaged and to Draco Malfoy of all people would have been too crazy for even him to suspect.

"Sorry guys, I have to go. Ministry business." And without a look back Harry fled from the room. Whoever had said that Gryffindors were stupidly courageous were wrong, he had seen enough of life by now to know when to flee, his own sense of self-preservation kicking in. And from the hard looks in both Hermione's and Ginny's eyes he knew that neither were going to back down and that it might get ugly.

He just hoped that Ron would be able to get away before the war between the two women started.

And he didn't feel bad in the slightest about leaving his friend to deal with that particular carnage.

He'd just have to try and talk to Hermione and Ginny seperately later on when both had hopefully calmed down.

He really wanted to know how the two of them had fallen in love though, if they were indeed in love. Knowing his best friend however, he was pretty sure that she wouldn't have agreed to marry anyone, Draco Malfoy no less, without actually loving him.

And Hermione and Ron had been history for a couple of years by now, having decided ages ago that they would be better off as friends than as lovers. It had been a mutual decision - both being a lot happier apart than together. Also, considering how happy Ron was with Fiona, had been for the past two years now, it was pretty obvious that it never would have worked out well for Hermione and him.

But that she would choose Draco Malfoy of all people... Harry shook his head, now was not the time to be thinking about his friend's choices, he could do that later on when his brain wasn't required to save his own life and the the lives of others while out on the job.

It appeared to be a relatively normal thing, it was just that no one else was 'on-call' at the moment so therefore he had been called in.

He and Trevors, another man from the auror department, merely had to go and retrieve some sort of device from a dubious contact (hence the aurors were needed because the man wasn't really trusted) and bring it back to the Ministry before another department took over and examined it more closely.

"Are you sure that this is going to be fine?" Trevors asked, looking nervously around the room as they went inside to retrieve the device.

"Of course it will be." Harry stated confidently while carefully mapping out the place in his head himself. "Otherwise they wouldn't have sent only the two of us." At least he hoped that was the case. No matter what anyone said, he was now just as mortal than the rest of them so he really hoped that the people in charge weren't harboring some strange idea that they could just send him anywhere and he would come back alive.

It was an idiotic assumption to have anyway, nobody was truly invincible. He had made that experience over five years ago and had no desire to relive it. Ever.

"Sorry to disappoint you Mister Potter." Harry whirled around and the man he had known as Trevors vanished before his eyes and turned into the person that they had meant to meet here. "Here you go, this is what you came for, isn't that right?" The man's sentence was slightly garbled as he thrust some sort of strange device into his hand and Harry felt a sucking feeling pull him away from the current place and time.

Seriously, life liked to throw him way too many curveballs.

~.~.~.~.~

When he woke up, he realised that the place around him was not a place that he recognised. Considering that his vision was exceptionally blurry right now it would have been a surprise had he been able to see anything clearly at all. That might be attributed to the fact that his glasses were not perched on his nose at the moment. Okay, not the best thing to realise when one woke up after blacking out. Groaning aloud, he sat up, rubbing his forehead, just knowing that he would probably have a bruise to show for his latest adventure.

Ginny might just kill him. The last time he had unexpectedly vanished on a mission and had been unable to return until three days later, she had chewed him out so thoroughly that he genuinely feared being gone for anything longer than a couple of hours. He honestly didn't want to upset her.

"Mummy, there's someone lying in the bushes." The voice of a child met his ears and his hand patted the floor next to him in an attempt to find his glasses so that he could at least see where he was. Or who he was facing.

But seriously, if the child (and he presumed that it was one) was the dangerous one here then he may have to make the Ministry rewrite some of their rules and regulations about dealing with situations like these.

He did not want to think about that right now. First order of business would be to find his bloody glasses on the damp grass. Then he could deal with whatever the hell Trevors had decided to throw at him. As he came in contact with what he presumed were his glasses (at least, they had the right shape), he realised that he would have to tell the Ministry that Trevors had been an imposter.

He groaned as he put his glasses back on; that was going to cost him too much paperwork and extra hours that he, quite frankly, did not feel like investing in this. The Ministry's safety procedures were going to get worse again as well, which was going to be an even greater pain.

Carefully Harry blinked and peered up at the small boy that was standing in front of him right now, peering down at him rather curiously.

"Hello, I'm Orion Atticus Urquart. And you?" The boy looked to be no more than six and Harry marvelled at the clear enunciation of his speech and the aristocratic way he held himself. It was so at odds with his cheeky grin.

"Uncle Harry! What are you doing in the bushes?" A female voice greeted him and Harry looked at the fair-headed woman in complete and utter confusion. He had never met her in his life.

"Uncle Harry?" Orion looked between the woman and Harry and his small brow wrinkled in confusion. "That's not Uncle Harry!" He looked slightly affronted that his mother was calling this man by the name that one of his favourite uncles went by.

Harry looked between the boy and the woman, both of whom bore a striking resemblance to one another. He assumed that they were mother and son.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I really do not have any idea of who you are." He said looking at her, feeling even more confused as she did seem somewhat familiar. But only in the 'I may have passed you in the street once upon a time' sense.

She chuckled softely. "I suppose you don't." She smiled down at Orion and then looked back at him, "I'm Artemis Andromeda Urquart, although I used to be a Malfoy, and you are right, you don't know me. Not yet at least." She grinned while Harry's confusion grew. That grin was terribly familiar. "You do know my mother though, Hermione Granger, although she hasn't gone by that name in forty-nine years."

Harry choked as he opened his mouth to respond (a damned fly had taken the opportunity of his mouth hanging open for the second time that day and flown in) which quickly turned into a cough.

Artemis continued to look rather amused.

"You're Hermione's daughter?" He looked at her. She nodded happily.

"The youngest of ten."

Cue another round of a hacking cough. What was it with insects and his mouth today.

"So you're her grandson?" He looked at Orion.

"Yup!" The little boy grinned toothily. "Grandma Hermione's the best!"

"You really don't like Grandma Adairia, do you?" Artemis continued to look amused as her son shook his head rather vigourously.

"No, she's horrible!" He replied indignantly and Harry felt the immediate urge to sit down as Artemis put up a token effort to convince her son not to dislike her mother-in-law quite so much (seeing as she appeared to not like her much either, it really to seem like a minimal effort).

He knew that he should have stayed in bed today.

~.~.~.~.~

"So let me get this straight, Hermione told you to give me the very device that transported me in the first place?" Harry looked around the manor that reminded him quite a bit of the Malfoy Manor of his time, only quite a lot more welcoming and in warmer colours.

It was quite surprising what a difference light, colourful walls could make.

"Yes." Artemis nodded as Orion ran ahead to the kitchens, shouting something about sweets and biscuits at the top of his voice. She had smiled fondly as he had run away from them and Harry had watched as she, and her son, both moved with a grace that evaded 99% of mankind.

He wondered if there was something about being directly related to a Malfoy, or being one, that made one project such a picture of elegance. With Hermione marrying Malfoy, he might be able to do some research (in relatively controlled conditions) about that.

"She told me, before she and dad went on holiday to Venice to visit Blaise and Luna," Harry's head spun around and he muttered a bried 'what is it with everyone marrying Slytherins' to himself before turning back to the front to prevent his shins from making a rather painful encounter with a coffee table, "That you had mentioned that a younger you might be making an appearance at our home around this time."

"I told her that?" Harry felt rather sceptical. He knew that something like that would mess with the flow of time so he doubted that he would have told her that.

"No, you told dad and Uncle Ron and Uncle Blaise when you were out drinking. Apparently everyone apart from dad was already pretty sloshed," That word sounded strange with her distinctly upper-class accent, "And you were talking about your lovely wives and how wonderful they were. Mum and Luna were both expecting at the time you see." She winked at him and Harry groaned. Of course they would all turn out to be hopeless romantics like that. "According to dad, you suddenly sat up and looked at him completely and utterly seriously and said: 'I always knew that you and Hermione were going to be amazing together. The curveball told me.' Which apparently confused him quite a lot." Artemis grinned.

Harry groaned and his palm smacked against his forehead. It seemed as if he would never get any more coherent when drunk. It wasn't his most attractive attribute so he had hoped that he may be able to get rid of it over the years.

Artemis opened the door to what was quite obviously a study. "So dad continued playing you with alcohol-" "Slytherins!" "And he eventually got it out of you. Uncle Blaise and Uncle Ron were apparently singing 'Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall' at this point so they never found out. Dad of course told mum and she immediately went hunting for the object that their unborn daughter was going to give you to take you back to your own time. She never did tell me how she managed to get ahold of it." She grumbled slightly and started rifling through the drawers. "Where did Hamish put it..."

As her mutters continued, Harry tried not to contemplate Draco plying him with alcohol and it working, or them all being friends and his attention drifted to a wall filled with pictures.

One of them was Artemis in a wedding dress with quite a handsome man next to her, whom he presumed to be Hamish, her husband. Then there were several of Orion and another small girl, who bore a lot of Hamish's features. Their daughter then. Several more were of Artemis with other people, quite a few of which he would say were her siblings. His eyes remained stuck on one particular photograph however. It was obvious that the two people in the picture were Hermione and Draco, but that was not what held his gaze. No - by now it was obvious to him that Hermione and Draco would marry seeing as this was, quite clearly, the future. It was the picture itself, the setting, the kept his eyes glued to it.

It was obviously at a wedding, they were dancing. They looked at least twenty years older. Or something along those lines at least. The moving photo made it clear that it was a slow dance, a waltz perhaps? Their eyes were locked as they talked and they were smiling softly. It was an incredibly private moment, Harry felt almost as if he were intruding upon it. A couple of seconds later, Malfoy said something and smirked as Hermione burst out laughing.

It struck a chord within him that he did not know these people. Not like this. Not together. And they looked so...happy.

"It was at my twin brother Apollo's wedding." Harry jumped slightly and Artemis just smiled at him before looking back at the picture that he had been inspecting. He raised his eyebrows at the fact that Hermione had named her twins Artemis and Apollo and Artemis, understanding his critical look merely shrugged with a slightly sheepish look.

They stood there in silence as Harry's eyes flew over the rest of the pictures.

"Are they happy?" He broke the silence.

"Yes." He saw Artemis' nod out of the corner of his eyes.

They spent a couple more minutes in silence before Harry turned back to her.

"Here you go." She held out the object between a piece of cloth. Harry looked at the cloth and then back at her. "Apparently it activates by touch. I'm not completely sure how it works, but mum does and she told me not to let my skin touch it under any circumstances. All I gathered was that it is a portal of sorts between two time periods - ones that are somehow important to the one wielding the object - and will take you back and forth between the two times."

"How come this didn't come through with me then?" Harry asked, his eyebrow quirking upwards as he peered at the object.

"It did." Harry's head shot back up to look at Artemis. "Our gardener's been missing since last night."

Had 'Trevor' been the gardener? He'd have to clear that one up when he went back.

"Thank you Artemis." He smiled at the woman in front of him and she grinned back at him.

"No problem at all Uncle Harry. Have a safe journey back." He nodded his thanks once more at her words and reached forward. As his hands encased the object, Artemis opened her mouth once more.

"And remember Harry, don't count your chickens before the eggs have hatched."

He nodded briefly, understanding what she was trying to tell him, before the world went black once more.

~.~.~.~.~

Coming out of the fireplace into his home, Harry listened carefully for any noise before letting out a sigh.

It had been a long day and next time he had the feeling that he had had this morning, he was staying in bed. He would even call in sick if necessary.

Suddenly a crash resounded through the house and he sighed. The silence and promise of some peace had almost been to good to be true. He dropped his bag into one of the chairs and walked towards the kitchen. It had technically only been three hours since he had left but it felt like nearly half a lifetime.

"Ginny?" He called out carefully as he stuck his head through the kitchen door. He blinked a couple of times as he took in the utter carnage that had apparently occurred in there. Ron was standing inbetween Hermione and Ginny and appeared to be trying to placate the two. He was also covered in flour. And eggs?

"Harry? You're back already?" Ginny asked, both her and Hermione breathing heavily with their wands pointed at each other.

Harry briefly considered asking about what exactly had happened and why Ron was looking even more traumatised than before he had left but decided that the answer might be too much for him to take right now. He didn't want to know what Hermione and Ginny had thrown at each other during their fight, whether it be words or actual physical objects. Hurt was shining in Hermione's eyes though so Harry knew that it hadn't been pretty.

This day just kept getting better and better.

Stepping over some apples, he came into the room.

"Hermione," He began and Ginny and Ron both perked up, "Congratulations on your engagement." Everyone's mouths fell open.

"What?!" That was Ron.

"Harry?!" Ginny was even louder than her brother.

"Really?" Hermione's was the quietest and most unsure.

"Yes." He nodded as Ginny and Ron looked at him rather in incomprehension. "I had some time to think while I was away and I realised that if he makes you happy, then there's nothing I can do but be happy for you."

He smiled slightly as Hermione (also covered in something - was that the soup that he and Giny had made yesterday?) rushed over and hugged him tightly (definitely soup - he'd have to wash his clothes now).

"Thank you." She whispered softly.

"Now, go home, tell the ferret," She sent him a look that he pointedly ignored - he knew that Malfoy made her happy, but that didn't mean that he was 100% happy about now having to welcome Malfoy into their lives, "That it'll be okay. I do expect both of you to be here for dinner tomorrow though and let the three of us know how the hell this came to be. And why you're getting married. And that he should expect me threatening him about hurting you."

She sent him a very pointed look this time. He merely shrugged.

"Thank you." She whispered again as he made a shooing motion towards the fireplace. Ginny and Ron weren't going to remain quiet much longer and he had to try and explain his (kind of?) change of heart to them and convince them to not have Malfoy drawn and quartered tomorrow.

Weasleys and Potters were terrifyingly protective of their own. He still remembered the interrogation Molly and George had put Fiona through. Her survival of that incident alone spoke volumes.

Ron had not been amused.

As she vanished in a cloud of green smoke, Ginny's and Ron's voices erupted once more.

He held up his hands, not even attempting to be louder than them (it was of no use anyway - Ginny's and Ron's voices could reach volumes that even megaphones couldn't reach). They eventually grew quiet.

"We shouldn't count our chickens before the eggs are hatched." He merely said. Both of them cocked their heads to the side and looked at him rather quizzically. As the minutes dragged on his eyebrows rose up and finally understanding began to dawn on their faces.

"He's a git." Ron retorted, looking understandably furious, but now back at a humane volume.

"He's Malfoy." Harry replied.

"Why?" Ginny came forward and tucked herself in against Harry's side.

"I had some unexpected foresight, is all." Harry shrugged slightly, ignoring the way the egg yolk from Ginny's shoulder was now making its merry way down his robes. Blast it. "I realised that if Hermione was marrying him, she must love him deeply. She wouldn't marry him otherwise. So we'd most probably lose her if it came down to it."

Ron and Ginny looked immensely unhappy at that but nodded slowly.

"One chance. That's all he gets." Ginny stated, finally realising what state the kitchen was in if the widening of her eyes was anything to go by.

"Ferret." Ron muttered and Harry recognised the gleam in Harry's eyes.

"Always." He grinned and Ron shook his head, muttering something about 'unworthy' and 'Hermione must be out of her mind'.

Tomorrow was going to be interesting once again.

And sadly, he would not be able to stay in bed in order to avoid it. Ah well. Somehow Harry knew that this time, he wouldn't want to.


End file.
